Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage Explained

The Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage (Japanese: Japanese: 武蔵野三十三観音霊場, Musashino Sanjūsan(33) Kan-non Reijō) is a Japanese pilgrimage of thirty three Buddhist temples and an extra one, founded 1940. The temples located in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures, and along the Seibu Railway (formerly name is "Musashino" Railway). The sanctuaries are situated nearby urban area of Tokyo, and the Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage Ground Association prepares dedicaded stamp books for this pilgrimage, so it can be said it is a kind of relatively easy pilgrimade. Each temple has its own go-eika, which is a kind of tanka for pilgrimage. In addition, it is sometimes called "The hundred Kannon Prilgrimage in Musashi Province" together with the Chichibu 34 Kannon Sanctuary and the Sayama Kannon Pilgrimage.^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

The Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage was founded by Jōe Shibata, who was a Japanese local historian, in 1940, and the opening event was held at Sanpō-ji, which is third one in the temples list, on May 1, 1941. But, it had been in decline and dormant for decades after the World War II. It is because the area suffered war damage, so the temples could not ready to accept pilgrims. Thereafter the Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage Ground Association was reorganized on April 2, 1993, and the official website has also opened. In 2000, all the temples did kaichō, which is public exhibition of religious objects, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding. It is the first time of kaicho from re-founding. After that, the anniversary events have been held every 5 years.^{[4] [5]}

Location

The sanctuaries are located along the Seibu Railway from the urban area of Tokyo to the mountainous area. (Most of them are along Ikebukuro Line, its branch lines and Chichibu line, and others are along Shinjuku line and its branch lines.) So, them in the first half are often in residential areas, but some of them in the last half are in mountain forests. For this reason, traveling for pilgrimage becomes gradually difficult, but it's hiking level, not climbing.^[6]

Temples

The following list contains all the temples of the Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage.^{[7] [8]}

No.	Temple	Sect	Honzon (Main Image)	City/Ward	Prefecture	Image	Nearest Station	Coordinates
1	Chōmei-ji 長命寺		Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)					35.7441°N 139.6142°W
2	Dōjō-ji 道場寺		Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Nerima	Tokyo			35.7364°N 139.5986°W
3	Sanpō-ji 三寳寺		Nyoirin Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra)	Nerima	Tokyo		Shakujii-kōen	35.7361°N 139.5966°W
4	Nyoirin-ji 如意輪寺 (Hōya Kannon/保谷観音)	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Nyoirin Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra)		Tokyo		Hibarigaoka	35.7418°N 139.5516°W
5	Tamon-ji 多聞寺	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)		Tokyo		Higashi-kurume	35.7549°N 139.5293°W
6	Zenryū-ji 全龍寺	Sōtō-shū	Ichiyo Kannon		Tokyo			35.7786°N 139.5268°W
7	Tokuzō-ji 徳蔵寺		Byakue Kannon (pandara vasini)		Tokyo			35.7708°N 139.468°W
8	Enjō-in 圓乗院	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Nyoirin Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra)		Tokyo		Musashi-Yamato	35.7549°N 139.4366°W
9	Jitsuzō-in 實蔵院	Shingon-shū Buzan-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)				Kōkū-kōen	35.7906°N 139.4634°W
10	Shinkō-ji 新光寺	Shingon-shū Buzan-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Tokorozawa	Saitama		Kōkū-kōen	35.7925°N 139.462°W
11	Fumon-in 普門院	Shingon-shū Buzan-ha	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)	Tokorozawa	Saitama			35.7913°N 139.4481°W
12	Zentoku-ji 全徳寺	Sōtō-shū	Fuhi Kannon	Tokorozawa	Saitama			35.7869°N 139.4237°W
13	Konjō-in 金乗院 (Yamaguchi Kannon/山口観音)	Shingon-shū Buzan-ha	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)	Tokorozawa	Saitama			35.7686°N 139.4147°W
14	Myōzen-in 妙善院	Sōtō-shū	Byakue Kannon (pandara vasini)	Tokorozawa	Saitama			35.7952°N 139.4083°W
15	Shōrin-ji 松林寺	Sōtō-shū	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)	Tokorozawa	Saitama		Sayamagaoka	35.8041°N 139.3951°W
16	Jigen-ji 慈眼寺	Sōtō-shū	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)		Saitama			35.8549°N 139.4083°W
17	Tokurin-ji 徳林寺	Sōtō-shū	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Sayama	Saitama			Sayamashi	35.8591°N 139.4116°W
18	Rnege-in 蓮花院 (Kurosu Kannon/黒須観音)	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)		Saitama				35.8483°N 139.388°W
19	Tōkō-ji 東光寺	Shingon-shū Buzan-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Iruma	Saitama			35.8276°N 139.3648°W
20	Ryūen-ji 龍圓寺 (Araku Kannon/新久観音)	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)	Iruma	Saitama		Bushi	35.8259°N 139.3619°W
21	Kōshō-ji 高正寺	Sōtō-shū	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Iruma	Saitama		Bushi	35.8355°N 139.3551°W
22	Enshō-ji 圓照寺 (Motokaji Bishamonten/元加治弁財天)	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Nyoirin Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra)	Iruma	Saitama			35.8395°N 139.3465°W
23	Jōshin-ji 浄心寺 (Yaoroshi Bishamonten/矢颪毘沙門天)	Sōtō-shū	Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)		Saitama			35.846°N 139.3126°W
24	Kannon-ji 観音寺	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Nyoirin Kannon (Cintāmaṇicakra)	Hannō	Saitama		Hannō	35.8563°N 139.3128°W
25	Ensen-ji 圓泉寺	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)	Hannō	Saitama			35.8685°N 139.3479°W
Extra	Reigan-ji 靈巖寺	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)		Saitama			35.9001°N 139.3237°W
26	Shōden-in 聖天院	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Hidaka	Saitama		Koma	35.8952°N 139.3206°W
27	Shōon-ji 勝音寺		Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)	Hidaka	Saitama		Koma	35.8911°N 139.3189°W
28	Ryūsen-ji 瀧泉寺	Shingon-shū Chisan-ha	Senju Kannon (Sahasrabhuja)	Hidaka	Saitama			35.8806°N 139.2913°W
29	Chōnen-ji 長念寺	Sōtō-shū	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Hidaka	Saitama		Musashi-Yokote	35.8874°N 139.2723°W
30	Fukutoku-ji 福徳寺	Rinzai-shū Kenchō-ji-ha	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Hannō	Saitama			35.8977°N 139.2608°W
31	Hōkō-ji 法光寺	Sōtō-shū	Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)	Hannō	Saitama			35.9086°N 139.225°W
32	Tenryū-ji 天龍寺 (Neno-Gongen/子の権現)		Jūichimen Kannon (Ekādaśamukha)	Hannō	Saitama			35.9074°N 139.1893°W
33	Hachiō-ji 八王寺 (Take-dera/竹寺)	Tendai-shū	Shō Kannon (Avalokiteśvara)	Hannō	Saitama		Hannō	35.8901°N 139.1923°W

See also

• The hundred Kannon Prilgrimage in Musashi Province, pilgrimage composed of the Chichibu, Musashino and Sayama pilgrimages.
  • Chichibu 34 Kannon Sanctuary, pilgrimage in Saitama Prefecture.
  • Sayama Kannon Pilgrimage, pilgrimage in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures.
• Japan 100 Kannon, pilgrimage composed of the Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu pilgrimages.
  • Saigoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kansai region.
  • Bandō 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kantō region.
  • Chichibu 34 Kannon, pilgrimage in Saitama Prefecture.
• Shikoku Pilgrimage, 88 Temple pilgrimage in the Shikoku island.
• Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage, pilgrimage in the Chūgoku region.
• Kannon
• Buddhism in Japan
• Tourism in Japan

Further reading

• Book: 白木(Shiraki), 利幸(Toshiyuki) . 2004 . 武蔵野三十三観音巡礼(Musashino 33 Kannon Junrei) . 朱鷺書房 . 4-88602-332-0.

External links

• 武蔵野三十三観音霊場 The Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage Official Website (in Japanese)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 知る(Knowledge) . 武蔵野三十三観音霊場(Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage) . 13 December 2021.
2. Web site: 武蔵野三十三観音霊場 (Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage) . ニッポンの霊場 (Pilgrimage of Japan) . 13 December 2021.
3. Web site: 武蔵の国百観音巡り(Walk the hundred Kannon Prilgrimage in Musashi Province) . 埼玉県ウォーキング協会 (Saitama Walking Association) . 31 January 2006 . 13 December 2021.
4. Web site: 武蔵野三十三観音霊場の案内(Guidance of Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage) . 猫の足あと(Cat footprints) . 13 December 2021.
5. Shiraki Musashino 33 Kannon Junrei P9
6. Shiraki Musashino 33 Kannon Junrei P8
7. Web site: 武蔵野三十三観音霊場 勝音寺(Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage, Shōon-ji) . 勝音寺 (Shōon-ji) . 13 December 2021.
8. Web site: 各寺院(Temples) . 武蔵野三十三観音霊場(Musashino Kannon Pilgrimage) . 13 December 2021.